


Smile Through the Rain

by Shadow15



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Abuse, Brain Damage, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:54:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26023807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow15/pseuds/Shadow15
Summary: When Dino finally gets Squalo out of an abusive relationship, the only thing left to do is try and rehabilitate the damage caused by the mental and emotional strain. But Xanxus refuses to leave things so simple, and for once, Squalo isn't the one to pay the price.
Relationships: Dino/Superbi Squalo, Superbi Squalo/Xanxus
Kudos: 9





	Smile Through the Rain

There had been so many years that went into Squalo’s hatred for the front door of his home opening, he wouldn’t even know where to begin counting from. It didn’t matter whether the door opened by his own hand or his partner’s; regardless of who was the one stepping through the threshold and into the entrance hall, it always played out the same way. 

And today, no matter how much Squalo wished for it to be, would be no different. 

"Oi, you shitty shark!"

Squalo jolted up from the living room sofa as if he had been burned by it. The blankets he had been laying under fell from his body, the book clattering to the hardwood floor like some sort of abstract murder scene one would see played out in a documentary. The crackling of the fireplace that had soothed him only hours ago now went completely unnoticed by Squalo as his mind now only held room for the imminent threat shouting for him. His body tensed, betraying how hard he was trying to keep calm to avoid aggravating an already dire situation. “Yes, Xanxus?” 

Squalo wasn’t surprised by the thunderous footsteps that reminded him uncomfortably of gunshots. The ceaseless echoes made the mansion feel so much bigger than it really was, but when Xanxus had stopped in front of Squalo, within an instant, the mansion just didn’t feel big enough.

Squalo always tried his best to remain indifferent to Xanxus - especially when he reeked so overwhelmingly of alcohol and those dark, loathing eyes tinged red from drinking looked so ferocious, Squalo wondered if a wild animal would be less threatening. But no matter how hard he tried, he failed every time. 

Squalo yelped when his hair was pulled so viciously, his eyes watered from chunks being ripped from his scalp. He tried to back away and free himself, but whatever strands hadn’t come loose were now wrapped around Xanxus’s hand, holding his head forcefully to the side.

"Fuck off, you asshole!" Squalo tried to get away, to free himself without losing more hair, but it was impossible. He wasn’t sure that there was an occasion in the last eighteen years where he’d managed to escape Xanxus’s hands unscathed. “Don’t touch me!” 

Xanxus leaned down to Squalo’s ear, so close that his hot breath billowed over Squalo’s ear. His hiss was deadly, and Squalo knew he’d rather face whatever starved animals were hungry for him than have to be here in Xanxus’s clutches. "Didn't I tell you not to do stupid shit like reading anymore? I've already explained it to you once before; you don't leave that fucking bed for anything; you lay naked for me all day every day; it's all you're good for, you whore."

Squalo couldn’t help but swing his fist at Xanxus in defence. He knew how stupid, how suicidal it was to do so, but he’d never been great at controlling his temper. His stomach dropped when Xanxus moved out of the way; he knew what would come next in punishment, but still - no matter how many years of abuse and degradation he’d been through, he still wasn’t quite able to sit back and allow himself to be spoken about in such a way. "I'm not a fuckin’ whore!  _ You're _ the one who goes out and cheats on me!"

Xanxus snarled so ferociously, a t-rex’s roar would have been put to shame. His fist struck out, again and again and again, until he knew that Squalo’s face was going to be swollen black and blue within hours. But Xanxus didn’t care about that fact; the bruising would only go nicely with all the others that already adorned Squalo’s gorgeous, pale skin. 

"Don't you ever raise your hand to me again, you little slut!" Xanxus wasn’t done yet. His knee connected with Sqaulo’s stomach, rendering him completely breathless, before backhanding Squalo hard enough to send him sprawling across the floor. The small specks of blood coating the floorboards painted a scene that, in any other person’s life, would have had Squalo furious and desperate for the other person to get the fuck away from their abuser. But Squalo couldn’t feel the same for himself, no matter how much he knew he should. "I should shoot you here and now!"

Lifting his head, Squalo glared back in defiance. He lifted a hand to wipe at his mouth, wincing at the blood that clung to his skin from the action. "Do it. I don't care; it won't be the first time you've done it."

The sneer on Xanxus’s face took a sickening twist as he moved closer to Squalo. He kicked hard enough to roll his victim across the floor until he lay sprawled on his back. He grinned at the rivers of blood that poured from opened wounds, old and new, on Squalo’s face. "Get in bed, trash."

"No." Squalo’s refusal wasn’t as strong as he’d hoped it would come out as. He tried to push himself up from the ground, despite the uncontrollable spinning the world was doing, and briefly, he wondered if Xanxus had kicked him in the head again. He held his bleeding face, hoping desperately that he wasn’t going to have to endure yet another concussion. 

Snatching silver hair back into his fingers, Xanxus yanked savagely again. "What did you just say?"

"I said no!" Squalo tried to move away, but as always, it was futile. "I'm not doing it! Fuck off!"

But Xanxus wasn’t a man to take no for an answer. He kicked Squalo again for good measure before taking a bruising grip on Squalo’s forearm. Despite Squalo’s writhing, he dragged him from the living room, into the foyer, and all the way up the spiral staircase. He ignored the angry shouting, the desperate pleas, intending on getting what he wanted, and nothing Squalo could do or say would change his mind.

**~~XX~~**

Dino’s eyes opened blearily at his phone’s ringtone sounding from somewhere within the pitch black of his bedroom. He pushed himself up on his elbow as he groped blindly around the bedside table in search of his phone. He gave a yawn once his fingers curled around the device and, still half-asleep, he peered groggily at the caller ID, not surprised - but still deeply concerned, given the hour - to find his best friend's name on the screen.

Hitting the answer button, Dino placed the phone at his ear, worried as to what he was about to hear; for eighteen years he had tried his hardest to get Squalo out of that relationship, but for whatever reason, Squalo just wouldn't leave, no matter how bad it got. "Squalo...?"

A sob was the only answer Dino received before Squalo spoke in a voice choked with tears. "B-bucking Horse..."

"Squalo, are you okay?" More alert now, Dino sat up fully in his bed, knowing he had to be there for his friend. "What's happened?"

"...Can you come get me...?" It was rare for Squalo to cry, much less to ask for help; he was one of the most prideful persons Dino had ever met, so something incredibly dire must have happened.

"Yeah, I'll be there in fifteen minutes, Squalo. Where are you now?" Slipping himself out of bed, Dino moved to haphazardly throw a sweater backwards over his torso before searching for shoes.

"...Living room..." The man on the other end of the line was speaking far quieter than usual, and Dino knew this behaviour well enough to know Squalo was trying his hardest not to draw his boyfriend's attention. "Xanxus's sleeping..."

"Whatever you do, don't give him reason to wake up. I'm on my way now; I just need to get my keys." Listening to his friend murmur goodbye, Dino reluctantly ended the call; who knew what could happen in the time it would take to get there?

**~~XX~~**

The clock in Dino’s car had said something about one-thirty-am, or so Dino thought he’d seen when he’d gotten into the vehicle and started it, but it was certainly a plausible hour with how dark it was outside. 

The drive to Xanxus’s mansion had been in silence, and when he’d stopped the car in the courtyard for Squalo to get in, he hadn’t gotten a good look at his friend and what state he was in. The muffled sobs that had stopped not long before returning home had said enough, however.

But once they’d gotten back to Dino’s home, and Squalo had been ushered gently into the living room where Dino hadn’t hesitated in turning the light on, he was devastated by what he saw. Squalo's face was swollen to almost the size of a football, black and purple with barely a hint of unbruised skin beneath it all. The dried blood caking the left side of his face seemed to have come from a nasty gash on his forehead. His lip was bruised and bleeding, dribbling down his chin slowly, and the white button-up pyjama shirt he was wearing was blotched almost completely red with blood. He limped badly, wincing every time he put weight on his left leg, and he held his left arm close to him, as if it hurt to let it hang down by his side.

"Squalo..." Dino softened at the sight of his best friend, not knowing what to do; they were both thirty-two, and if Squalo didn't want to leave Xanxus, Dino couldn't force him. "Squalo, leave him; look at what he's doing to you..."

"I can't..." As Squalo shook his head, Dino cringed at finally catching sight of the blood that was even coating Squalo’s long, silver hair. 

"Why not?"

Looking away, Squalo mumbled, "I love him..."

"Yes, I know you do, Squalo, but he doesn't love you; look at what he's _ doing  _ to you."

"He was drunk this time; he'd been out drinking and fucking around; I guess I just pissed him off without even trying again."

"He doesn't even have to be drunk to do things to you, Squalo!" Dino felt as if he were at the end of his rope dealing with this; he just wished that Squalo would understand he needed to leave that relationship now before it was too late. Dino reached out with all intention of running his fingers through whatever strands of hair he could find that wasn’t coated in blood, but instead, he pulled his hand back and felt his heart break as Squalo flinched violently and recoiled before any contact could be made. "Squalo..."

Squalo cracked open an eye to glare lazily at Dino, just too tired for this conversation anymore. "Let me stay here tonight, Bucking Horse..."

Dino nodded; he would never turn Squalo away when he so desperately needed help. "Let me just get the first aid kit for you, Squalo."

Squalo nodded, making himself comfortable on the soft black sofa. He let his eyes slip closed, wrapping his uninjured arm around himself in what he knew was a mockery of comfort. _ Xanxus... What did I do to make you hate me so much...? _

Dino didn't take long at all to come back and clean out Squalo’s wounds in silence, neither of them knowing what to say. Dino just wanted to save his childhood friend whilst said friend just didn't understand what had gone wrong in his relationship and couldn’t come to terms with what it had now become.

"I think you need to rest now, Squalo." Dino helped his friend to his feet and pretended he didn't see Squalo flinching. He tried his hardest to remain calm, hoping that if Squalo were to get some sleep, he would let the blond help him again tomorrow. "You can take the spare room; it's all set up for you."

Squalo nodded, pulling away from Dino in a manner he would never admit was full of eagerness. He uttered a soft goodnight before he headed to the hallway, tracing the route that would take him past the kitchen and into the spare bedroom next to Dino's.

While Dino watched Squalo’s departure, he could only hope his friend would come to his senses soon enough, but not even an hour later, as he lay in bed and listened to the sounds of Squalo crying and struggling with nightmares, he wasn't sure it would ever happen.

If Squalo had stayed with someone so abusive for eighteen years without fail, then him leaving was probably nothing more than wishful thinking.


End file.
